BOP Program Statement 1351.05 § 32

§ 513.66. If a request made pursuant to the Freedom of

Information Act is denied in whole or in part, a denial letter

must be issued and signed by the Director or his or her designee,

and shall state the basis for denial under § 513.32. The

requester who has been denied such access shall be advised that

he or she may appeal that decision to the Office of Information

and Privacy, U.S. Department of Justice, Suite 570, Flag

Building, Washington, D.C. 20530. Both the envelope and the

letter of appeal itself should be clearly marked: "Freedom of

Information Act Appeal."]

28 CFR 513.32 refers to Section 7 of this Program Statement.

During the appeal and any subsequent litigation, Bureau staff

shall assist DOJ staff, including OIP staff, in reviewing

contested Bureau documents necessary to resolve the appeal and/or

litigation.

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Page 29

33. [FEES FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUESTS § 513.67.

Fees for copies of records disclosed under the FOIA, including

fees for a requester's own records, may be charged in accordance

with Department of Justice regulations contained in 28 CFR

16.10.]

See further description of fees in Section 16 above.

34. [TIME LIMITS FOR RESPONSES TO FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

REQUESTS § 513.68. Consistent with sound administrative practice

and the provisions of 28 CFR 16.1, the Bureau strives to comply

with the time limits set forth in the Freedom of Information

Act.]

Staff processing requests for release of information under the

FOIA are expected to be familiar with the provisions of

28 CFR 16.1(d), as follows:

# A requester must be notified of the decision on his or her

request within 10 days after its receipt (excluding

Saturday, Sunday, and legal public holidays). Conditions

for extension of this time are discussed in 28 CFR 16.1(d).

# Generally, all FOIA requests shall be processed in the

approximate order of receipt, unless the requester shows

exceptional circumstances exist to justify an expedited

response. Examples of exceptional circumstances which might

justify an expedited response include the following:

! a threat to life or safety,

! the loss of substantial due process rights, or

! in cases of widespread and exceptional interest to the

media, and upon approval of DOJ’s Office of Public

Affairs, possible questions about the Government’s

integrity which affect public confidence.

Because a decision to take a FOIA request out of order delays

other requests, simple fairness demands that such a decision be

made only upon careful scrutiny of truly exceptional

circumstances.

! Regional Counsel shall follow DOJ guidelines as to

whether to expedite a particular request because it

fits into one of the first two exceptions described

above.

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Page 30

! Requests which are being considered for expedited

processing because of the last exception described

above shall first be sent through the FOIA/PA

Administrator to the General Counsel for obtaining DOJ

approval.

35. TRANSITION. Inmates must remove any copies of PSRs and SORs

as listed in Section 12.a.(2)(d)(1) they currently possess no

later than 45 days after the effective date of this PS. Each

inmate must inspect his or her personal property for photocopies

of these documents and then dispose of them.

Inmates possessing these documents when this transition period

expires will be subject to disciplinary action for possession of

contraband.

Inmates may dispose of their PSRs and SORs by any of the

following methods:

! Mailing the documents out of the institution to someone of

the inmate’s choosing;

! Destroying or discarding the PSRs or SORs themselves; or

! Delivering them to a staff member for destruction.

/s/

Kathleen Hawk Sawyer

Director

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Attachment A, Page 1

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS

EXEMPTIONS TO DISCLOSURE PROVIDED IN

THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

1. The Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) provides

generally for the disclosure of agency records. Section 552(b)

exempts from mandatory disclosure matters that are -

"(1) (A) specifically authorized under criteria established

by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of

national defense or foreign policy and (B) are in fact properly

classified pursuant to such Executive order;

(2) related solely to the internal personnel rules and

practices of an agency;

(3) specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other

than section 552b of this title), provided that such statute (A)

requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a

manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (B) establishes

particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types

of matters to be withheld;

(4) trade secrets and commercial or financial information

obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;

(5) inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters

which would not be available by law to a party other than an

agency in litigation with the agency;

(6) personnel and medical files and similar files the

disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted

invasion of personal privacy;

(7) records or information compiled for law enforcement

purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law

enforcement records or information

(A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with

enforcement proceedings,

(B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial

or an impartial adjudication,

(C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an

unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,

(D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the

identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or

foreign agency or authority or any private institution which

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Attachment A, Page 2

furnished information of a confidential basis, and, in the case

of a record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement

authority in the course of a criminal investigation or by an

agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence

investigation, information furnished by a confidential source,

(E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law

enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose

guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if

such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk

circumvention of the law, or

(F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life

or physical safety of any individual;

(8) contained in or related to examination, operating, or

condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an

agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial

institutions; or

(9) geological and geophysical information and data,

including maps, concerning wells.

2. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be

provided to any person requesting such record after deletion of

the portions which are exempt under this subsection."

3. Under 5 U.S.C. § 551, Federal "agency records" are defined

not to include records of

(1) the Congress;

(2) the courts of the United States;

(3) the governments of the territories or possessions of

the United States; or

(4) the government of the District of Columbia.

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Attachment B, Page 1

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS

PUBLIC INFORMATION

STAFF:

Name

Position Title (past and present)

Grade (past and present)

Salary (past and present)

Duty Station (past and present)

Duty Station Address (past and present)

INMATES:

See list provided in the Program Statement on News Media Contacts

and the Public Information Officer's Handbook (PIO Handbook).

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Attachment C, Page 1

PUBLISHED SYSTEMS OF RECORDS

#: NAME: PUBLICATION DATE:

--------------------------------------------------------------

001 Custodial/Security Record System 09/28/78

002 FOIA Record System 09/17/77

003 Industrial Inmate Employment Record

System 09/28/78

004 Inmate Administrative Remedy Record

System 09/28/78

005 Inmate Central Records System 06/07/84

006 Inmate Commissary Accounts Record

System 09/17/77

007 Inmate Physical/Mental Health Record

System 09/28/78

008 Inmate Safety/Accident Compensation

Record System 09/28/78

009 Federal Tort Claims Act Record System 09/28/78

010 Access Control Entry/Exit System 10/04/95

011 Telephone Activity Record System 04/21/95

012 Office of Internal Affairs Investigative

Record System 08/29/95

101 NIC Technical Assistance Resource Persons

Directory 04/18/83

102 NIC Field Readers List 04/18/83

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Attachment D, Page 1

(Date)

Re:

Our Reg. No:

Docket No:

Dear,

Please advise us as to whether the attached document(s) prepared

by your agency may be (1) disclosed to the above inmate and (2)

used with respect to the inmate's parole hearing(s).

Disclosure of information contained in an inmate's prison files

is governed by a variety of Federal laws, principally the Freedom

of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) and the Privacy Act

(5 U.S.C. § 552a). Guidelines for the implementation of these

laws are given below.

GUIDELINES FOR DISCLOSURE TO A FEDERAL PRISON INMATE

Upon an inmate's request, materials in that inmate's files will

be disclosed to that inmate unless there is a legal exemption to

such disclosure. Typical examples of documents which may be

withheld are those which, if disclosed, might -

a. constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal

privacy;

b. reveal sources of information obtained upon a legitimate

expectation of confidentiality or otherwise endanger the

life or physical safety of any person;

c. lead to a serious disruption of the subject inmate's

institutional program, due to the diagnostic or evaluative

opinions contained in the document, and which could likely

affect the inmate's clearly documented adjustment

difficulties;

d. interfere with ongoing law enforcement proceedings,

including administrative investigations; or

e. enable the requestor to violate any law or threaten the

security of a Federal Bureau of Prisons institution through

disclosure of law enforcement techniques or procedures.

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Attachment D, Page 2

GUIDELINES FOR DISCLOSURE FOR USE AT THE INMATE'S PAROLE HEARING

A Federal prison inmate must be provided reasonable access to

reports or documents to be used by the Parole Commission in

making its parole release determination. The Commission, of

course, wants to use all the information in the documents you

prepare. If you determine that some information may not be

disclosed, in accordance with the guidelines listed above, you

must prepare a summary of excluded information if it is to be

used by the Parole Commission. This summary, as well as the

disclosable portions of the document, will then be available to

the inmate, and the Commission thereby be permitted to review the

entire document. The summary need only be phrased in general

terms to enable the inmate to respond to the essential

allegations made in excluded material. It should not reveal

specific information which might compromise a legitimate need for

confidentiality.

OPTIONS FOR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

There are three options which exist under Federal law with

respect to disclosure to the inmate and to the U.S. Parole

Commission of the information prepared by your agency.

Option 1 - You may authorize complete disclosure of the

document. The document is available for inmate review and

copying. Court disclosure instructions, if any, will be

followed.

Option 2 - You may recommend exclusion of a portion or all

of the document from disclosure. Please identify the part(s) of

the document you consider exempt form disclosure and prepare an

adequate summary of the excluded material. The Federal Bureau of

Prisons will review the reasons given in accordance with the

guidelines listed in this letter. If at least one of the

guidelines is met, both the summary and the disclosable portion

of the document, if any, will be available to the inmate. If the

Federal Bureau of Prisons determines the document to be entirely

disclosable, the document will be returned to you, and no copy

will be retained by the Federal Bureau of Prisons or for release

to the U.S. Parole Commission or to the inmate.

Option 3 - You may refuse to authorize disclosure of the

document, or a summary in any form to the inmate. If this option

is selected, please provide a memorandum detailing reasons for

non-disclosure. The Federal Bureau of Prisons will review the

reasons given in accordance with Bureau policy and the guidelines

listed in this letter. If at least one of the guidelines is met,

the document will be placed in the Inmate Privacy Folder and will

not be available for release either to the inmate or to the U.S.

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Attachment D, Page 3

Parole Commission. If the Federal Bureau of Prisons considers

the document disclosable, the document will be returned to you,

and no copy will be retained for use by the Federal Bureau of

Prisons. Please consider carefully before choosing this option.

We appreciate your review of the attached documents with respect

to their disclosure. We have enclosed a form for your response.

Thank you for you cooperation.

Sincerely,

Warden

Attachments

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Attachment D, Page 4

(Date)

To: Warden:

Institution:

FROM: (Authorized Agency Representative)

(Agency)

SUBJECT: Disclosure of Information to Federal Inmate and to

U.S. Parole Commission

This replies to your (date) letter in which you forward to us,

and ask that we review, certain document(s) prepared by our

agency to determine whether the document(s) may be disclosed to

the Federal inmate involved and the U.S. Parole Commission.

Document(s):

The following action may be taken with respect to these

documents:

1. Complete disclosure of the document(s) is (are)

authorized.

The document may be made available for inmate review and

copying.

2. The following portion(s) of the document(s) is (are) to be

excluded on the basis that if disclosed, it might -

constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of

personal privacy;

reveal sources of information obtained under a

legitimate expectation of confidentiality or

otherwise endanger the life or physical safety of

any person;

lead to a serious disruption of the subject

inmate's institutional program, due to the

diagnostic or evaluative opinions contained in the

document, and which it could likely affect the

inmate's clearly documented adjustment

difficulties;

interfere with ongoing law enforcement

proceedings, including administrative

investigations; or

PS 1351.05

9/19/2002

Attachment D, Page 5

enable the requester to violate any law or

threaten the security of a Federal Bureau of

Prisons institution through disclosure of law

enforcement techniques or procedures.

Other: (specify)

A summary of the excluded material is attached.

3. Neither the document nor a summary of the document is to

be disclosed in any form to the inmate.